• Digestive disorder are a growing problem globally. What contributes to weakening digestive health? Understanding the Digestive process. What is Migrating Motor Complex and its effect on Gut? Importantly How to restore balance in the Gut.

From personal experience say the mind works well when the gut is ok. Over time, my face has come to indicate the state of my gut - Editor

If one understands the real cause of digestive disorders, one is able to not only manage them well but also prevent many other diseased conditions.

Health is a matter of food being digested and assimilated well, and then all waste material eliminated thoroughly. It’s that simple. If this is maintained the body is capable of protecting itself against disease. 

However, digestive disorders and poor gut health are the most common problems of modern civilization. By a rough estimate, one in three people globally has some form of ongoing digestive issue.

In some datasets, this rises to more than 40% of the global population, especially when including all gut–brain interaction disorders. These include irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), chronic constipation, dyspepsia (indigestion), bloating, gas-related disorders, etc. These numbers could be higher since many people self-manage and never seek medical care. Further, definitions vary across cultures on ‘normal’ vs. constipation, and symptoms like bloating, irregularity. Acidity is  often normalized or ignored.

“The problem of constipation is the most outstanding contribution of civilisation to the chronic misery that life is to the civilised man,” is a statement made in the middle of the last century by Acharya K Lakshmana Sarma, the Father of Nature Cure in India. The condition has only worsened in the present century.

What is gut health?

This article in Parashospitals.com says, “Gut health refers to how well your digestive system functions. It includes the stomach, intestines, and especially the balance of bacteria living inside your gut, known as the gut microbiome.” It regulates bowl movement, affects state of mind and energy levels. 

Rising global burden!

Digestive dysfunction is now considered one of the most common chronic health issues globally, often comparable to or exceeding many other disease categories. Besides direct data, there is indirect evidence in the form of a rapidly growing global market for digestive remedies.

Several studies seek to understand the ‘global burden’ of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and related digestive health problems. It is unfortunate and somewhat ironic that something as basic as digestion, which can be managed by the individual, has turned into a ‘global burden’, simply because we do not take responsibility for our own digestion management! 

What is needed is to understand how the digestive process works, where the imbalance lies, and how to correct it. Solve it; not suppress it through remedies!

What contributes to weakening digestive health?

1. Nervous stimulation

Digestion is now well understood to be closely regulated by the nervous system through the gut–brain axis. It works best when the body is in a “rest-and-digest” state, governed by the parasympathetic nervous system. 

When the body is frequently pushed into stress or stimulation, the sympathetic system becomes dominant. In such a state, irregular gastric acid secretion, erratic gut motility, and increased intestinal sensitivity are common. This, in turn, aggravates conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome and gastroesophageal reflux disease.

2. Chemical stimulation of the gut

Many foods common in modern diets are physiologically stimulating. Such as strong spices (capsaicin from Chilli pepper), caffeine, alcohol, highly acidic condiments like vinegar, and ultra-processed foods with additives.

3. Sensitization of the gut

Modern gastroenterology recognizes a phenomenon called visceral hypersensitivity, commonly seen in IBS (Irritable bowel syndrome). In this state, intestinal nerves become more reactive, and normal sensations are perceived as pain or discomfort. Foods that previously caused no issue may trigger symptoms.

Excessive and regular intake of highly pungent, sour, and stimulating foods can contribute to this heightened sensitivity over time.

4. Other sources of ‘stimulation’

Digestive overstimulation does not come only from food. Modern living adds multiple layers like constant psychological stress, irregular meal timing, late-night eating, excessive caffeine, highly concentrated flavours and processed foods. Together they can push the gut into a continuous state of reactivity.

5. Other major contributors

Overstimulation is not the only cause of digestive problems.

Low dietary fibre, ultra-processed foods, antibiotic overuse, microbiome disruption, and sedentary lifestyles all contribute.

Thus, chronic overstimulation of the gut, both dietary and psychological, usually contributes to digestive disorders, particularly in conditions involving gut sensitivity.

Know your issues

Functional dyspepsia is indicated by chronic, recurrent indigestion and upper abdominal discomfort (pain, burning, bloating, or early fullness) that persists without any identifiable organic cause. It is said to be a disorder of the "gut-brain" interaction where the stomach does not function properly, even though not damaged structurally.

Irritable bowel syndrome is a functional disorder of the lower digestive tract and a disorder of gut–brain interaction. Investigations typically show no visible structural damage. However, symptoms include abdominal pain linked with bowel movements, alternating constipation and/or diarrhoea, bloating, and gas. At this stage, the gut is reactive and irregular, but not structurally damaged.

If corrections are not made at this stage, functional digestive problems may progress into inflammatory or structural disorders such as infectious colitis (due to bacteria or parasites), ulcerative colitis, and Crohn’s disease. These involve actual inflammation or damage to the intestinal tissue.

To put it briefly, in dyspepsia the stomach is unable to handle food well, in IBS the intestines are structurally normal but function irregularly, while colitis indicates an inflamed or damaged colon.

So where does this leave us with chronic constipation? This is less of a disease and more a functional slowdown of a daily biological rhythm. It is a signal of imbalance rather than necessarily a pathological condition: a daily elimination rhythm that has lost its ease, timing, or completeness. If left unattended for long, it may not just turn into a chronic condition, but also bring along other diseased conditions.

This problem tends to aggravate with age, as three factors decline together: movement (motility), moisture (hydration), and responsiveness (nerve signalling). This combination naturally predisposes to constipation.

It is not accurate to say that constipation is inevitable in old age. It is common, yes—but largely because lifestyle over time becomes less aligned with physiology, and small imbalances accumulate over decades.

Understanding the digestive system

We have an alimentary canal and a digestive system. The alimentary canal, or digestive tract, is the continuous muscular tube through which food passes, is digested, and waste is expelled. It includes:

Mouth → pharynx → oesophagus → stomach → small intestine → large intestine → anus.

The digestive system is a broader term that includes the alimentary canal along with the accessory organs such as the salivary glands, liver, gall bladder, pancreas, teeth, and tongue.

Digestion is a complex process involving both mechanical (chewing, churning, peristalsis) and chemical (enzymes, acids, bile) actions. All the participating organs work in coordination, maintaining a finely tuned balance for nourishment and growth.

This automated system continues to function flawlessly despite abuses—UP TO A POINT. Beyond that, sustained imbalance can lead to breakdown.

However, even a basic understanding of how the body functions, and the relationship it shares with the food that sustains it, can prevent years of discomfort and ill health.

Knowing the digestive process

Digestion begins even before food enters the mouth. Visual and olfactory cues prepare the digestive system. Actual digestion starts in the mouth, where carbohydrates begin to break down.

Proteins and fats are primarily digested in the stomach. The partially digested food then moves into the small intestine, which is the main site for digestion and absorption. Here, nutrients are broken down into glucose, amino acids, and fatty acids, and absorbed into the bloodstream and lymph.

After absorption, the remaining material passes into the large intestine, where water, minerals, and certain vitamins (including vitamin K and some B-complex vitamins produced by gut bacteria) are absorbed.

It is an automated system that works 24 by 7. Then what goes wrong? Nothing can go wrong if a healthy microbiome is maintained. The system can cater for minor deviations here and there.

What is a healthy microbiome?

A healthy microbiome is a stable ecosystem characterised by diversity, balance, and resilience. It is shaped by diet, environment, daily rhythm, and stress.

In certain conditions, microbial diversity declines, beneficial bacteria reduce, and production of important metabolites like short-chain fatty acids decreases. Over time, the microbiome becomes less stable and less resilient.

Factors contributing to this include low-fibre diets, ultra-processed foods, medications such as antibiotics and painkillers, excessive sanitization with limited microbial exposure, chronic stress, irregular and late-night eating patterns, sedentary lifestyle, and early-life influences such as mode of birth (C-section vs vaginal), feeding practices (breastfeeding vs formula), and antibiotic exposure.

The MMC factor

The digestive system is self-regulating, but only up to a point. It is important to understand the balance between digestive rhythm and load.

It is not only what we eat, but also how frequently and irregularly we eat. Imbalance, over time, disturbs the Migrating Motor Complex. MMC is a wave-like cleansing movement in the gut that occurs during fasting, typically 3–4 hours after a meal, clearing residual food, bacteria, and debris.

Here is a typical diet regime that weakens MMC: Tea + biscuit → breakfast → snack → lunch → tea → dinner → late-night eating → milk or coffee before bed.

When eating is frequent and continuous, this mechanism is suppressed. As a result, residue is not cleared efficiently and begins to accumulate. When new food arrives before the previous meal is processed, fermentation increases, leading to heaviness and incomplete digestion.

Over time, this contributes to bloating, gas, reduced absorption, sluggish bowel movement, and eventually chronic constipation.

Prebiotics, probiotics, digestive enzymes, and various remedies are used, but they rarely address the root issue. Overuse may even reduce the body’s own efficiency over time.

The real solution lies in restoring dietary balance and digestive rhythm. In a well-functioning system, the microbiome is self-regulating, enzymes are adequately produced, and whole foods naturally support gut health.

The solution: Mindfulness

The gut is not merely a tube; it is a living ecosystem involving digestive organs, nervous system signalling, and the microbiome consisting of trillions of microbes.

Only if this system is balanced, does food get digested properly, nutrients are absorbed, waste is eliminated efficiently and we can be healthy.

Balance is restored when eating aligns with natural signals and rhythms—eat when truly hungry, allow adequate gaps between meals, avoiding constant snacking, early and lighter dinner, and maintaining regular elimination patterns.

A regular weekly coconut-water-fresh juices-fruit fast and fortnightly water fast highly recommended.

Let us not forget, all diseases have their roots in the gut!

Anuradha Vashisht   is a natural health educationist who has been promoting preventive health care through her Health Nectar initiative for over two decades. She guides individuals to restore and enhance their well-being naturally—through the adoption of holistic health concepts, mindful nutrition, and lifestyle transformation.

Anuradha trained under Acharya Seshadri Swaminathan, the foremost and most devoted disciple of Acharya Lakshmana Sarma, revered as the Father of Nature Cure in India. Her id reach.healthnectar@gmail.com

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